Theresa E. Gildner, PhD

Dr. Gildner is interested in the ways lifestyle variation and environmental conditions influence infectious disease risk, and how these factors can produce and perpetuate health inequities. She is primarily concerned with determinants of parasitic disease, an underappreciated global health crisis. Her research focuses on soil-transmitted parasitic worms that infect more than a quarter of the global population (with children exhibiting the highest rates of infection). Among other studies, she has worked extensively with the World Health Organization’s multi-country study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE). She teaches classes on a range of topics, including Introduction to Global Health, Environmental Interactions and Human Health, Evolutionary Medicine, and Human Biological Variation.